Yet again I got the misguided response from someone, “It sounds like you’re having fun.”

The wonderful part of this comment was the word “sounds”. Yes, the person who typed this is aware this is audio. Hallelujah! I sometimes think a number of fellow creators are intending to drive me insane by only referring to readership. Hmm! Yeah! Sure… I only have readers. Yep. That iTunes link over there… it doesn’t exist. Let’s just completely invalidate it. This is worse than someone assuming this is fun. It could be fun! That was the original purpose, after all. But upon recognizing there are hundreds of complete strangers listening in that might be friends who could discuss The Pit of Ultimate Dark Shadows with me and make it fun again, but choose not to, well, the fellow seemed to understand why I referred to this process as giving me the 3AM jitters. Oh, and he’s Addams Family. I let him know, “Um… Dark Shadows folks? Many are quite difficult to handle.”

Thank Heavens I’m a listener. In my original plan Victoria and Peter were on a road trip to escape the madness of Collinsport. Peter didn’t disappear into the past, and because he had the Jeff Clark persona the paperwork for their wedding is as Elizabeth states: “…so hazy.” They dabbled in a time travel accident leading them to Twin Peaks and staying at The Great Northern Lodge. Twin Peaks being in Washington State, Victoria was able to get a postcard to Elizabeth, and Roger made fun of the idea they were investigating The Space Needle in Seattle. I double checked to make sure The Space Needle was up in that time frame. I was pretty sure it was as I have an issue of National Geographic from the event of it’s inception. Fascinating stuff.

Next Victoria and Peter, somehow back in the late 1960s, arrive at The Bates Motel, roughly the same time period. Already they’ve hit two stops that they’d run away screaming from. The upshot was to keep encountering places that were just as bad as Collinsport. When they reach this new location, though, I saw The Addams Family were loving in a spooky way. Ah, yes. They can help and from what I’ve gathered from The Addams Family and its fans? I’ve got to hang on to them and find more ways they can remain in The Pit of…

As for today and days prior, the climactic scene for my 13th Episode is still without music or sound effects. Julia Hoffman was rough to pick which inflection was the best, Professor Stokes was the same. There are times the first one is best but when I perform the lines I’m not sure so I give it a few runs while recording so that I can pick later. 3 to 5 different choices, sometimes more.

Maggie Evans was very rough to figure out as it is a climactic scene and I’ve been trying to get her down better. Kathryn Leigh Scott’s performance of Maggie Evans, etc. has a pitch in her voice, opening the throat, and working through the nose to create something fuller in scope than most actresses. It’s a rich and unique sound.

Also trying to get the best of how Jonathan Frid would naturally say it as Barnabas… Would he pause before a word like in this line? Would he say it strait like this other choice I recorded? Would it be a combination?

Maggie Evans, now incorporating bits of Josette Dupres. How much more firmly would she state this now? Pick this one without a contraction? Or where it sounds less like a contraction… (Meanwhile she’s having physical contractions while giving birth in Margaret Josette Dupres… weirder and weirder…)

And the other invalidation I’ve had to deal with: doing a relief series, “Well, I don’t get that. Isn’t the point of storytelling conflict?”

Will the people listening to this talk to the people that aren’t and let them know there is a TON of conflict, please? Thank you. Not to mention I had to pick out which slap I performed to throw on Barnabas. Months ago Magical Irish Dolphin got a little excited about that. ^_^

After all this and him still boo-hooing? Of course she’s gonna slap him.

As Milligan explains in the following episode, “Not that we encourage such behaviour. This is a story after all…”

And as I’ve gone through this process I’ve watched the fanfiction pile online grow and expand to the point The Pit of Ultimate Dark Shadows in text might not be on the first page anymore. But what does it matter? Derivatives of it are, people looking for something different can still find it. Search engines for Barnabas/Josette, Barnabas/Kitty, Barnabas/Maggie are still tapped out every so often and then they discover this blog so they can find it. And like I often say, if anyone wants all of this produced faster get in touch with me and discuss the project. That’s the whole purpose of putting it online, to find the people who prefer it or want it, as well as all of the rest, and hopefully build a small community from it.

Oh dear, but what of that slap? Well, beyond Osheen’s Bill Malloy chapters, I’ve been doing this all far too long to take an interest in much else. I’m sure in the Dark Shadows pile there is plenty of domestic violence placed on Barnabas Collins from other characters since folks seem to both adore him and enjoy sending him pain. Fans can get-off on that.

When it comes to the obvious moaning and groaning over the woman he actually loves? She’s slapped him, chained him, poured ice on him and strangled him to relieve her own torture and kidnapping by him. On one hand he endures it. On the other hand: It is Josette Dupres… Who gets-off on that?

Barnabas Collins. ^_^

I’ve said it in Margaret Josette Dupres: Yep, that’s a happy man… finally.